2013 OMTOM charities

Posted: 10 June 2013

Record amount raised for charity! Thanks to your incredible generosity, a record amount was raised for the TOMI charities this year. At the ultra marathon prize giving, Lester Cameron, chairman of the Two Oceans Marathon Association, handed over cheques of R100 000 each to the SANParks Honorary Rangers, Western Province Athletics and the Cape Academy of Maths, Science and Technology.

The Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon doesn’t just provide a great day out for runners but is also a fantastic way to give something back to the community. The Two Oceans Marathon Initiative (TOMI) is the event’s official fundraising initiative that provides much needed support to select groups of charities that meet various criteria. The 2013 beneficiaries of TOMI were announced by the Two Oceans Marathon Association Board in February 2013. TOMI’s priorities lie with ensuring that the education and sporting needs of children are met, education facilities are provided and upgraded, and environmental issues, involving parks, flora and fauna are included.

The combination of marathon and mountain is an exciting collaboration between TOMI, SANParks and the Honorary Rangers and will provide support for a key Table Mountain National Park (TMNP) project. The SANParks Honorary Rangers in the Table Mountain region comprise of 35 volunteers who support TMNP by fundraising and working on a variety of conservation projects. Their project for 2013 is to create an Endangered Species Garden at Orpen Road in Tokai Park, which will highlight about 30 different threatened species. The garden will be easily accessible to everyone with paths wide enough for families and groups (such as school environment clubs, walkers and joggers).

The donation to Western Province Athletics (WPA) will fund a much-needed Club Development Programme. Due to the diversity of WPA members, continuously changing EXCO members and their daily commitments, many members across the province are facing a tough task and lack the proper guidance and necessary education to successfully manage, empower and grow their clubs. This programme reflects the WPA’s commitment to not only promoting the sport of athletics but to positively contribute to developing and transforming our society by improving the functioning and support of WPA affiliated clubs.

The Cape Academy of Maths, Science and Technology was started in 2004 by the Western Cape Education Department with the explicit objective to provide high-quality Further Education and Training (FET) to socio-economically deprived learners in Grades 10-12 with a bias to rural areas. The Academy currently has 405 learners from different areas in the Western, Eastern and Northern Cape in a residential school in Tokai. Funds donated by TOMI will be utilized to pay for school fees, hostel accommodation, stationery, school uniforms, medical & dental care and travel expenses.